Countless human endeavors require the use of electrical power to facilitate some function. In some instances, the potential for a human to be exposed to electrical power is low. Devices that use electrical power are typically designed to provide a fixed, semi-permanent barrier between the human and the, potentially dangerous, electrical power powering the device. For example, in order to access potentially harmful electrical power, home appliances often have outer casings that require some effort to open up and expose a human to potentially dangerous electrical power.
However, in some endeavors, having a fixed, semi-permanent barrier is impractical or impossible. For example, power line workers often work in the vicinity of high voltages. Because of the countless variations in the locations they may need to access and work on the power lines, installing fixed, semi-permanent barriers is often not feasible.
Another human endeavor in which the use of a fixed, semi-permanent barrier can be impractical is when using a defibrillator. A defibrillator is an electrical device that provides an electric shock to the heart. The electrical shock is designed to help re-establish a normal rhythm in the case of a dangerous arrhythmia, as in cardiac arrest. A defibrillator works by using a high-voltage (hundreds to thousands of volts) impulse passed through the heart muscle to electrically reset the heart rhythm. The total energy that is delivered to a patient receiving a defibrillator shock can range from 50 to 360 joules.
A typical external defibrillator uses two contact pads or paddles to cause current to flow through the heart. Typically, one pad or paddle is put above and to the left of the heart and the other pad or paddle is put slightly beneath and to the right. Another method involves placing one paddle on the front of the body and the other on the patient's back. In order for the electric current to flow properly, and to reduce the risk of skin burns, the electrodes have to be applied close enough together. They must also make good electrical contact with the skin, so a solid or liquid conducting gel is usually applied to the patient's chest first.
During cardiac arrest, it is advantageous to minimize any interruptions between chest compressions performed during cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the delivery of electrical shock from an external defibrillators. However, manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation is often interrupted for relatively long periods during the defibrillation process for fear of inadvertently shocking the health care provider. To ensure the safety to healthcare providers performing the compressions, rescuers try to not contact the patient during the period of each shock. This interruption to compressions can reduce the efficacy of the resuscitation.
The use of uninterrupted hands-on defibrillation has been proposed. One such method is the use of non-conductive barriers to insulate the health care provider from the risk of a shock. In a simulated or best-case scenario, insulated barriers can shield health care providers against an electrical impulse that could decrease hands-off time, and improve patient outcomes of cardiac resuscitation. However, in actual use, the circumstances are often less than optimal. There may be fluids, body movement, and other factors that may render the insulated shield ineffective. For example, during compression, the rescuer may be shifting their body, possibly moving the barrier or resulting in a body part of the rescuer unknowingly being placed in contact with the patient. Thus, uninterrupted hands-on defibrillation using conventional technologies can pose a safety risk to the rescuer.
It is with respect to these considerations and others that the disclosure made herein is provided.